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Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire have the power of Dominion. They replace the French. Suggestions and spoilers The HRE is one of the few factions with the backbone of its special forces being mainstream infantry (the others being China, Japan, Spain, and England). This advantage continues to be played well into the Imperial Era, where it also excels with the use of pike-and-shot tactics as do the Spanish. Generally speaking, German light infantry and gunpowder infantry have a good, if not best, production time record. The only other faction to do this better is China, but Chinese light infantry and gunpowder units are substantially weaker. While Chinese unique units may be known for their cost, neither does the Lesser Nobleman line suffer from combat penalties, nor does the Landsknecht gunner suffer from a diminished rate of fire. Wood is also an important resource. It goes into economic structures, boats and siege machines. The Empire doesn't just have a wood production bonus, it also receives timber production and building enhancements for free as well, meaning that its buildings are also sturdier and also built faster (with the right Age and correct tech levels). Couple this with its unique powers, and you can create a well-equipped and properly led military force. Officer units are very useful units that have a variety of powers which enhance the micro-management of your troops (especially infantry) in the heat of combat. The HRE is an expert in pitched battles involving infantry. As mentioned before, its generals can aid it greatly using their abilities, while their supply wagons also have the ability to heal other units within their radius, meaning that you would not need to rely on expensive holy order units from your Nobles' Court to do the same thing for you. CtW guide Like so many factions in Europe, the Germans start off the game bordered by enemies...the French and the Burgundians guard the hills to your west, while directly north the Danes host their vikings, and to the east rule the Bohemians and Poles. To the south, however, lie the Alps, an inhospitable chain of mountains stretching from central France to Austria and dotted by the redoubts of robber barons who menace the passes. The only good news about this is that you start the game allied with the Pope in Rome, so an expansion southward to take advantage of Papal armies might be good, and you might be able to share in the spoils yourself, although the Pope is always touchy on the issue of who controls Jerusalem and the Apenines. However, such moves might bring the wrath of the Venetians, the Hungarians and the French on your head, so you might want to think carefully about where and when you go. Consolidating your position will be of utmost importance; if you can capture the Alps, Austria, Tyrol, Bavaria, Burgundy and Swabia before the end of the Dark Age, you will receive a fortification bonus of +2 to each region you control. To the west towards Denmark and France, there are many supply centres within the old Carlovingian empire. It would be advisable for you to capture these supply centres in order to create a massive army. However, bear in mind that the other factions will be looking on, and so you would be well advised to be wary. Denmark and Burgundy may prove to be good partners; France to the west and Sweden to the north may be less so. Bohemia remains a tempting target: it's situated close by, and the Pope won't excommunicate you for crushing them. It is to be noted too that Eastern Europe is also littered with plenty of rare resources: the mountains of the Tyrol contain copper, and Moravia and Bavaria sport silver mines while the coal deposits of Silesia deserve some attention. It would be wise for you to seize these resource-rich areas before the Bohemians do. Thus, the German player is faced with a decision: expand into northern Italy, or go the same way as the Teutonic Knights did, by expanding into Eastern Europe? Faction summary *All-rounder faction that prefers, over other things, siege weapons, naval forces and infantry. *Snuff Powder — With so much timber harvested, the Empire can be said to be better suited for spamming archers and siege machines, rather than gunpowder units. Yet this should not be a deterrent for matchlock-mad players: your Landsknecht arquebusiers might prove to be potent units indeed. *Bob the Builder — As the Empire has a knack for harvesting timber constructing buildings, you should find it not difficult to create a more efficient town faster than others. *Military Discipline — With so many nobles infesting so compact an area, it is thus unsurprising that each castle can spawn officer units. Use these units to escort your troops in battle — while they do not grant huge attack bonuses or healing as chivalric order units do, they can pull off several tricks that the simple sword-wielding oafs of the Nobles' Court are not too well-versed in. *General Hospital — The Holy Roman Empire is best suited for pitched battles. Your supply wagons have the ability to heal nearby friendly units, so it might well be possible to use missile infantry to seal off areas to deny the enemy ground. Of course, one must always be wary that the enemy may bring siege weapons... *The Siege Perilous — Germans excel in the art of creating siege weapons. While the Bohemians might be masters at the art, it is the German siege artillery which might prove to be more cost-effective. After all, you have Berthold Schwartz to thank for discovering the art of creating gunpowder! Settlements: '''Magdeburg; Aachen; Köln; Lübeck; Mainz; Fellin; Augsburg; Mailand; Leipzig; Hannover; Stuttgart; Bolzen; Innsbruck; Landeck; Trier; Luttich; Koblenz; Heidelberg; Reutte; Nuremberg; Bremen; Waiblingen; Halle; Spandau; Talinn; Hamburg; Dresden; Karlsbad; Marienbad; Franzensbad; Paide; Constance; Kassel; Marburg; Rakvere; Pärnu; Narva; Carinthia; Krajina; Königsberg; Bern; Imst; Schwaz; Kufstein; Kitzbühel; Lienz; Riga; Danzig. '''Leaders: '''Rudolf, Lothar, Otho, Charles the Bald, Frederick Redbeard, Frederick Hohenstaufen, Manfred, Konrad '''Best age(s): Castle to Imperial History The story of the Holy Roman Empire begins when the Franks, a Germanic tribe, settled in Gaul (France) and conquered the other tribes in Northwestern Europe, establishing the Merovingian Dynasty from 500 to 751. It is during this time that the Germans adopted Christianity. The Frankish Kingdom continued to expand gaining more power, reaching its zenith under the rule of Charlemagne (768-814). He established the Carolingian dynasty and formed what was called the Holy Roman Empire, spanning territory from the Spanish marches into central Germany and south into the Northern half of Italy. After Charlemagne's death the Empire broke up into three parts: the West Franks, which became France; the East Franks, which became Germany; and the Middle Kingdom which was the territory between the two. However, pressures from invading Vikings and Magyars caused the Eastern Frankish Kingdom to break up into a number of small kingdoms and city-states. These polities were loosely affiliated and elected a King, Conrad I (911-918) from the Duchy of Saxony. He established the Saxon dynasty and his grandson Otto I the Great managed to halt the Magyars westward expansion and even absorbed the Middle Kingdom. He then took the title Holy Roman Emperor. However this move also caused the German Kings, who were still elected by the nobility, to spend too much involved with Italian politics and to neglect the governing of Germany itself. The Saxon dynasty ended in 1024 and power passed to a Frankish tribe, who established the Salian dynasty (1024-1125) This period saw the various duchies grow in power and a breakdown in relationship between the King and the Church, which further weakened an already ineffectual monarchy. The Hohenstaufens It then fell to the Duchy of Swabia to reunite the Germans under the Hohenstaufen dynasty in 1138. One of its Kings, Frederick Redbeard (or in Italian, Barbarossa) attempted to reassert imperial power, but sparked a war against the Papacy and its allied states. Despite winning many battles, Barbarossa's efforts came to naught and in fact his years at war in Italy allowed other German princes to become even stronger and impinge on Slavic territory. The Order of the Teutonic Knights was also formed at this time, being the most notable in the effort to the eastward colonisation. The various German principalities eventually became more and more fragmented as inheritance split each polity into ever-smaller parts. This period was called the Great Interregnum (1256-1273). The Habsburgs and the Rise of Austria The anarchy of the Great Interregnum ended when Rudolf of Habsburg (in Austria) was elected King-Emperor. It was by no means a fast recovery, nor did it mean the Emperor had any real power. In fact the Habsburgs were more concerned with enriching their family holdings than governing Germany. Some principalities degenerated to no more than kleptocracies that would rob travellers in their territory in order to sustain their holdings. However, by the 16th century, it was clear that Germany, due to its central location in Europe, became extremely active in international trade. Local alliances between various polities saw the rise of the Hanseatic League and Switzerland as virtually independent from the Empire in 1499. The Reformation Intellectual growth in Germany followed economic empowerment. Several universities were founded during this time, as well as the invention of movable type by Gutenberg in 1450. However, these developments would soon enough destroy what little unity remained of the Empire. The increased intellectualism in Europe soon resulted in dissension with Church practices, and soon enough, outright rebellion and war would break out again. The intellectual climate and the changing social-economic conditions of Europe eventually led a disgruntled professor of theology at Wittenberg University in Saxony to publish a series of 95 damning theses, which denounced the inefficiency and corruption of the Roman see. This professor was Martin Luther, who having translated the Bible into his particular dialect of German, contributed to creating a national language for all of Germany. His attempts to spearhead the Reformation, however, divided the German peoples into old-school Catholics and those who disagreed with them, who were called "Protestants". Various principalities clung to Catholicism, while others promoted the Protestant cause. This attempt to reform the church would soon result in war in Germany and soon would have violent repercussions for Europe and the rest of the world well to the present day. By the end of the 16th century, the Holy Roman Empire was a mere shadow of what it originally used to be, but its Habsburg masters would with only a few interruptions continue to retain hegemony over Catholic Central Europe until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. References * One Dead Angel; Rise of Nations: Germany — A Guide Category:Factions Category:Spoiler Category:Catholics